Kasich Kool-Aid Still Served

Ohio Gov. John Kasich is not a fan of Donald John Trump. The same can be said by the Donald about Ohio’s 64-year old lame duck leader who’s stuck in his own lane on the party’s off-ramp.

With the GOP convention in Cleveland now less than two weeks away, the mystery is what Gov. Kasich, who lost all states but his own, will do when the Trump show comes to Ohio? A must-win state on anyone’s list, Republicans will melt faster than an ice cube in Death Valley in summer if Hillary Clinton defeats Donald Trump in Ohio and other key battleground states. She currently leads him from small to large margins in all important states. In some national polls, like the Reuters-Ipsos poll, she leads him by double-digits [13%].

But Camp Kasich, despite being tossed to the curb after its leader voluntarily bowed out of the race for president on May 4, saying he is still figuring out the Lord’s mission for him, is still serving up the Kasich flavored Kool-Aid that he can beat Hillary Clinton. Mrs. Clinton will soon achieve her goal in Philadelphia a week after Republicans give the Donald the keys to the family car in Cleveland.

Camp Kasich provided links to several recent articles highlighting Gov. John Kasich’s efforts to help Republicans maintain their majority in the U.S. Senate. Among the articles were several touting Mr. Kasich’s ongoing popularity in national polls.

One of those articles came via Politico in Ohio’s bromance: Kasich goes all-out to save Portman. “The popular two-term governor of the Buckeye State has pledged to do whatever is needed to help Portman defeat Democrat Ted Strickland in the marquee Senate contest. That means fundraising, campaign events, TV ads — basically anything Portman wants…” Politico wrote.

Kasich extols his love of Ohio’s junior senator in Washington, Rob Portman, as someone who is a “friend of mine and he’s a good guy.” Portman, Gov. Kasich says, is “one of the most effective guys in the U.S. Senate. … He understands how to not only be a conservative, but to get along with other people.”

“I really want to him to be able to stay down there and basically represent me and my family,” the petulant, often-prickly chief executive said.

Meanwhile, Camp Kasich is pointing to an NBC News poll showing Hillary Clinton Leads Donald Trump but would lose to Mr. Kasich if he were on the ballot. Mr. Kasich is keeping his home fires burning based on poll results showing he leads Clinton by 8 points. The reason for that wishful thinking is that the former Lehman Brothers banker and former Fox News political talk show host is due to more Democrats and Independents breaking for the GOP if John Kasich were the nominee.

A so-called “moderate Republican” candidate like John Kasich might fare well in a general election scenario, Politico speculated. Of course, Kasich winning a national election when he lost 49 Republican state primary races seems far fetched at best. A deeper dive into Kasichland shows Ohio’s governor is as right-wing as the best of them. From harmful laws toward women to income tax giveaways to the wealthiest, John Kasich hews to the rigid contours of failed Republican policies that demand fewer government regulations, balanced budgets, more spending on defense and making government the handmaiden to the private sector.

What John Kasich will do in Cleveland when Republicans gather there is anyone’s best guess. He seems destined to wander for four days and four nights in Ohio’s most populous county as Team Trump orchestrates a show that has no room for the son of a mailman who discovered professional politics is more fun and lucrative than becoming a Catholic priest, as he once wanted to do.